Housing Watch

APRIL HOUSING WATCH

Median Price of a Single-Family Home in Salt Lake County Climbs to $515,000

Unprecedented demand for homes has pushed sales and

“Housing demand is still prices to new heights. Home sales in Salt Lake County in April climbed 26% compared to the same month a year strong compared to one earlier. The year over year percent increase reflected the year ago, evidenced by dismal number of sales in April 2020, when Covid-19 forced business shutdowns and quarantines. home sales from this January In April there were 1,509 sales of all housing types. New to April, which are up 20% listings for the month fell to 1,820, down 7% from a year compared to 2020,” said earlier. Pending sales, or signed real estate contracts to purchase a home, increased to 1,513 units, up 5% year over

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief year. The inventory of homes for sale fell to 1,282, down 59% economist. from a year ago. The median sales price of all housing types sold in April increased to $440,649, up 21% compared to a median price of $365,000 in April 2020. The median price of a single-family home soared to $515,000, up 36% from a year earlier. Salt Lake home prices have been rising every year since 2012. Salt Lake homes were on the market five days in April, down from eight days in April 2020. “Housing demand is still strong compared to one year ago, evidenced by home sales from this January to April, which are up 20% compared to 2020,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The additional supply projected for the market should cool down the torrid pace of price appreciation later in the year.” The median U.S. existing-home price for all housing types in April was $341,600, up 19% from April 2020 ($286,800), as every region recorded price increases. This is a record high and marks 110 straight months of year-over-year gains. First-time buyers were responsible for 31% of sales in April, down from 32% in March and 36% in April 2020. NAR’s 2020 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers – released in late 2020 – revealed that the annual share of first-time buyers was 31%. “First-time buyers in particular are having trouble securing that first home for a multitude of reasons, including not enough affordable properties, competition with cash buyers and properties leaving the market at such a rapid pace,” Yun said. Individual investors or second-home buyers, who account for many cash sales, purchased 17% of homes in April, up from 15% in March and 10% in April 2020. All-cash sales accounted for 25% of transactions in April, up from both 23% in March and 15% in April 2020. Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – represented less than 1% of sales in April, equal to March’s percentage but down from 3% in April 2020. According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.06% in April, down from 3.08% in March. The average commitment rate across all of 2020 was 3.11%. Yun expects the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to remain below 3.5% in 2021.

Risk of Liability (continued from page 27) It’s not just seeing a buyer’s name that can lead to potential fair housing violations. Sellers can decide not to sell to certain individuals after looking at their social media posts or security videos when prospects tour the home. “Keep sellers focused on the buyers’ offers rather than the people,” Ransome said. Ed Forman, president of Watson Realty Corp. in Jacksonville, Fla., advises agents to be clear and transparent with buyer clients to be sure they feel they have been treated fairly—and to document those conversations. “In one case, buyers we represented didn’t understand why the seller accepted an offer that was $10,000 below their bid on their dream home,” he said. “I reviewed our agent’s notes and saw their offer was contingent on the sale of their own home, making it less attractive to the seller. When I explained this to the buyers, they thanked me, saying, ‘Now that I know what happened, this won’t worry me for the rest of my life.’”

4. Wire Fraud

Agents and brokers need to guard against wire fraud scams that could cost a buyer or seller hundreds of thousands of dollars. “We put a warning on all our documentation not to accept any last-minute wiring instructions,” said Forman. “We encourage title companies to speak directly to the buyer. However, we did catch one fraudulent transfer a few weeks ago and called the FBI. We were able to freeze the bank account and the buyers got their money back before it disappeared.” Bartholomew likewise tells his clients to call the escrow agent or title company directly at a known number to confirm the details before sending a wire transfer.

5. Social Media

Be very careful before posting to social media, said Forman. Avoid misleading or deceptive representations and comments that could violate fair housing principles. Be sure to follow staterequired disclosures on advertisements, in keeping with NAR’s policies. “Keep your posts professional and talk about the home, rather than the buyer,” said Mack. “We are accountable for our personal as well as our professional posts, so think twice and be sure you are not violating any laws or causing a potential backlash from anyone.” Last November NAR expanded the Code of Ethics to ban discriminatory hate speech and conduct directed at members of any class protected under Article 10. The change applies to all of a member’s activities, not just those that are real estate– related. “We all represent the real estate industry, and must be careful to uphold those standards in all our posts,” added Forman.

6. ADA Website Accessibility

In Florida and other states, plaintiffs’ lawyers have contacted real estate brokers and agents whose websites fail to meet the accessibility guidelines in the Americans with Disabilities Act. “You need to be sure your site can be accessed by everyone,” said Rymarowicz. Accessible websites or mobile apps can interact with assistive technologies, including software that converts speech to text and screen readers that display voice-to-text on a webpage. Users should be able to navigate a site using just a keyboard, if necessary. Forman said the ADA compliance requirements offer an opportunity for upgrades to sites to be sure everyone has an equal opportunity to educate themselves, search for homes, and make a well-informed decision. “Sometimes the lawyers give you a gift in terms of doing what’s right for your customers,” he added.

Your Legal Tip Sheet

1. Don’t make decisions for the client. 2. When in doubt, disclose it. 3. Put decisions in writing. 4. Give facts rather than opinions. 5. Focus on the offer rather than the buyer. 6. Follow the NAR Code of Ethics. 7. Stick to the real estate transaction and don’t give legal advice.

7. Do Not Call Registry

Bartholomew makes sure every call is made personally, without violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or the National Do Not Call Registry. “Agents should avoid making automatic calls and be sure to leave voicemail if no one answers,” he said. “Our clients are upset about getting robocalls from companies using virtual assistants and dialers to see if they want to sell their homes.” Richard Westlund is an award-winning freelance writer in Miami, Florida, who focuses on real estate, technology, finance, and a wide range of other business topics. He can be reached at rnwestlund@ gmail.com. Reprinted from Realtor® Magazine Online, May-June 2021, with permission of the National Association of Realtors®. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.